LSP trooper vows to ‘go into hiding’ if fellow trooper is released from jail

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A Louisiana State Police trooper testified in an Ascension Parish courtroom Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 8 that he and his girlfriend would “pack their bags” and “go into hiding” if a fellow state trooper is released from jail.

The trooper said he and his girlfriend are afraid that the accused, fellow Louisiana State Police Trooper Garrett Yetman, would try to harm them if he is allowed out on bond because he assisted in getting Yetman arrested.

RELATED: LSP: State trooper arrested for domestic violence, placed on leave

Despite that, District Court Judge Steven Tureau allowed bond in the case, saying state law prohibits him from doing otherwise. Tureau set bond at $350,000 and placed multiple stipulations on Yetman should he be released.

In the same hearing, the alleged victim cried as she testified in court that Yetman allegedly threatened to kill her and choked her until she blacked out last Friday night, Feb. 4 in Gonzales.

Authorities arrested Yetman, 28, the following morning on a felony charge of domestic abuse battery by strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of simple assault.

The victim testified she slapped and pushed Yetman after the two got into an argument about another woman.

She says that is when Yetman became irate and allegedly attacked her.The woman says she was eventually able to escape and run to the home of the same trooper who testified in court Tuesday.

While being cross-examined by Yetman’s attorney, the woman admitted she also slapped Yetman in public on a prior occasion.

The testimony was part of a Gwen’s Law hearing before District Court Judge Steven Tureau.

Gwen’s Law took effect in 2017, requiring anyone arrested on domestic violence charges to go before a judge for a hearing to determine if there is a likelihood the person would pose any threat if released on bond.

RELATED: LSP trooper remains jailed; Gwen’s law hearing set

Judge Tureau says Gwen’s Law only allows for a defendant to be held without bond if there is a documented history of domestic abuse. And, he said, there is not such a history in this case.

Tureau ordered that if Yetman posts bond, he must undergo a psychiatric evaluation, wear a GPS tracking device, relinquish all firearms and abide by a 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. He also said Yetman must remain 500 feet away from the alleged victim as well as the fellow trooper and that fellow trooper’s girlfriend.

Yetman, who was placed on administrative leave by Louisiana State Police following his arrest, remains jailed in Ascension Parish.

He has been a trooper since 2019.

Yetman did not testify in today’s hearing.

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